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Thursday, January 31, 2013

OKLAHOMA CITY – The House Republican Caucus today unveiled
their 2013 legislative agenda, which included a three-point plan addressing
economic development, education reforms and infrastructure funding and
maintenance.

“Oklahomans have spoken loud and clear this year by voting in
the largest Republican majority in Oklahoma history,” said House Speaker-elect
T.W. Shannon, R-Lawton. “They want overreaching regulations that limit their
freedom repealed. They want policies enacted that protect their rights, that
encourage job growth and prosperity and that improves our education system so
their children can have a brighter future.”

On infrastructure, Speaker Shannon proposed an eight-year,
pay-as-you-go plan to directly fund the upkeep and repair of
infrastructure.

“In the past, the model has been to neglect infrastructure to
the point of decay and then to take out bonds to repair those needs,” said
Shannon. “Our plan will be similar to the eight-year transportation plan we
introduced last year that allows us to prioritize projects based on need and to
pay our way as we go without adding more debt onto the backs of hardworking
Oklahomans.

Regarding the state budget, State Rep. Scott Martin addressed
the budget discussions that will be taking place during the upcoming session and
indicated that a tax-reduction proposal would be included.

Rep. Martin noted that he has introduced a measure that would
reduce the tax rate by .25 percent this session.

“We need a budget that covers our core services and is
responsible with our taxpayers’ money,” said state Rep. Scott Martin, R-Norman
and chair of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee. “We are going to
continue the efforts of the past few years to craft a fiscally conservative
budget that takes into account the daily needs and burdens of our citizens and
businesses. We need to reduce the tax burden on families and businesses so they
can have more money at the end of the month to put food on the table and gas in
the tank.

“We also need to pay attention to what is happening at the
federal level, where their inaction on fiscal issues will impact our state
spending. Unlike the federal government we will pass a balanced budget on
time.”

The caucus also stressed the importance of making additional
reforms to the state’s expensive workers’ compensation system and the
debt-burdened public pension system.

“One of the main issues we will be looking at will befundamental changes to workers compensation
system,” said state Rep. Leslie Osborn, R-Mustang and chair of the House
Judiciary Committee. “We have passed several important reforms to the workers
compensation system during the last several years, but we want to look at
possible ways to improve on those changes.

“In particular we want to make sure that injured workers are
properly taken care of and even retrained if need be so they can get back on the
job as quickly as possible. We want to create an environment where existing
businesses can grow and add jobs and also look at ways to encourage new
employers to relocate to Oklahoma.”

“We will offer a pension plan that will be competitive with
the private sector and that will give more investment mobility to state
workers,” said state Rep. Randy McDaniel, R-Oklahoma City and chair of the House
Pension Oversight Committee. “We believe in giving workers more opportunity and
choices for greater economic prosperity.”

On education, the caucus committed to increasinglocal control, accountability and finding ways to
fund previous reforms.

“We believe it’s important to restore as much local control
on education issues back to the local communities,” said state Rep. Lee Denney,
R-Cushing and chair of House Common Education Committee. “We want to look at
ways to increase accountably for our schools, our teachers and our
administrators so we can focus on providing a quality education for our
children.

“We also want to find a way to fund past reforms that our
schools simply cannot afford to implement and to push back against
one-size-fits-all federal mandates that restrict our ability to make
improvements to our education system.”

Develop and implement a
long-term infrastructure plan to repair and maintain state
assets

House Republicans also released their guiding principle for
the 2013 legislative session, as follows:

The Oklahoma House Republican Caucus is committed to
valuing human life at all stages, free enterprise, personal responsibility and
the rule of law by developing responsible solutions that rein in government and
promote economic opportunity, individual prosperity and a civilized
society.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

OKLAHOMA CITY – In light of a New York ban on assault rifles,
state Rep. Dan Kirby said today he would like to invite Remington to consider
Oklahoma as a gun manufacturing location.

“I was just reading about the backlash from an Ilion, N.Y.,
Remington gun factory and I wanted to get the word out that many Oklahoma
lawmakers would welcome gun manufacturing jobs in our state and would like an
opportunity to talk to Remington about our incentive programs and friendly
business climate.”

Kirby said Oklahoma has a deeply embedded gun culture and
will unlikely ever consider any type of ban on guns.

“Support for Second Amendment rights is bipartisan and
overwhelming,” said Kirby. “Really, I think most Oklahomans would be proud to
welcome gun manufacturers to the state.”

Kirby noted that Oklahoma has several manufacturing
incentives available to companies that bring jobs to the state such as the
Oklahoma Quality Jobs Act and a 5-year property tax exemption for manufacturers.
State lawmakers have enacted lawsuit reform in past year and are working this
year to reform the state workers’ compensation system.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Lawmakers have
filed their bills for the 2013 legislative session. I have decided to push for
school board election reform, open record request accessibility, voter ID and
bills supporting our Second Amendment rights. Below is a description of each of
my bills.

My legislation,
House Bill 1887, would change all school board election dates to correspond to a
regular November election cycle in odd-numbered years. It would also make school
board member terms four years. The intent is to increase voter participation,
accountability and input into school board elections. I also filed House Bill
1891, which would require voters to prove their citizenship and the
verification of signatures for individuals requesting an absentee
ballot.

I have filed
House Bill 1888 to improve the process of complying with open record requests.
This bill authorizes the chief information officer to consolidate the process to
one website where open record requests for any state agency or board can be
made.

House Bill
1889 would change current ethic rules to allow a county party to contribute to a
candidate or candidate committee independently. Currently, state and county
parties act as one entity when it comes to campaign
contributions.

House Bill 1895
would reduce appropriations to the Oklahoma Arts Council. This saves the state
$4 million annually, which can be redirected to core services. It will also
ensure the state is not competing with the private sector in the art
industry.

I filed the
following bills at the request of constituents and other
organizations:

House Bill 1890
would modify the sex offender “zone of safety” by increasing the age of children
they must avoid and prohibit them from entering a state park. I filed this
legislation at the request of the Pottawatomie County sheriff’s department and
the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation.

House Bill 1892
is a constituent request bill that will allow employees to object to receiving a
vaccination against influenza.

House Bill 1893
would modify the manner in which handguns may be transported on certain public
properties. This bill was requested by the Oklahoma Second Amendment
Association, which includes members of my district. The organization also
requested House Bill 1894, which allows firearm training and qualification
course providers to determine the course fee and allows for immunity against
civil liability in certain instances. House Bill 2012 makes firearms, ammunition
and other items exempt from federal law and regulation when it is made and sold
within the borders of Oklahoma.

Beginning in
2014, House Bill 1896 requires high students to earn a career and technology
education credential to graduate. This is a workforce development bill requested
by the Career Tech Association. The organization also requested House Bill 1898,
which allows the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program to include certain
career technology courses.

House Bill 1897
was requested by Pottawatomie County Commissioner Eddie Stackhouse. It
designates the Sergeant Bret Daniel Isenhower Memorial Highway on a portion of
Highway 59 in honor of his sacrifice.

My constituents
are frustrated with the current system for electing county officials. If two
Republican candidates run for a county office and no Democrat files, than no
Democrat can vote in the election. Making county offices non-partisan will allow
everyone to vote, regardless of who files for what is really not a partisan
office. I have filed House Bill 1899 and House Bill 1900 with the intent of
making county races non-partisan. HB1899 has the support of the Oklahoma
Sheriff’s Association and would specifically target county sheriff
races.

I will continue
to keep you informed of the developments at the Capitol as the legislative
session convenes.

Once again, I am
here for the people of my district. I am in a position of service and want to
help in any way that I can. Please never hesitate to contact me at (405)
788-9160 or Josh.Cockroft@okhouse.gov. Follow me on
Twitter: @VoteCockroft27 and on Facebook: Representative Josh
Cockroft.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

OKLAHOMA
CITY – State Rep. Josh Cockroft is among 15 bill authors of a measure named the
Oklahoma Firearms Freedom Act.

The
legislation would assert the Second Amendment rights of Oklahomans by exempting
guns or ammunition made in the state from federal regulations. The bill
specifies that to qualify for the exemption the guns must be clearly marked as
“Made in Oklahoma” and kept within state boundaries.

“I am
concerned about the talk coming out of Washington, D.C., about tougher gun
control,” said Cockroft, R-Tecumseh. “This bill is meant to address potential
federal gun control actions and regulations by limiting federal regulation
within Oklahoma borders. I believe the bill has been written in a way that is
constitutional and will address potential federal action.”

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Rep. Josh Cockroft announced today he
will file two pieces of legislation that would make county elections
non-partisan in Oklahoma.

The first bill will focuse solely on sheriff
elections. The second bill would make all county elections
non-partisan.

“Making these non-legislative positions
non-partisan is an important step to simply putting the right people in the
right office, no matter their party,” said Cockroft, R-Tecumseh. “Constituents
are always telling me about the frustration they have with the current system,
where they can’t always vote for the candidate they want because of his or her
party designation. While I believe legislative positions should be partisan, I
don’t think most of us see a need for partisan county elections.”

The Oklahoma Sheriff’s Association have voted
unanimously for the first time to support legislation to make sheriff elections
non-partisan, Cockroft said. Non-partisan elections would allow all voters to
participate, even if candidates that file belong to only one
party.

“Individuals will still be able to run for office
pointing to the ideals of the party they belong to, but the duties that they
perform don’t require an R or a D behind their name, and the ballot box won’t
either,” Cockroft said.

Lawmakers are currently in the process of
drafting legislation, which must be filed by Jan. 17, 2013. The legislative
session convenes Feb. 4, 2013, with the governor’s State of the State
address.

About Josh...

Oklahoma State Representative Josh Cockroft serves the 27th House District which covers Pottawatomie and Cleveland Counties. Cockroft, a Republican, was first elected November 2, 2010 and is currently serving in his third term. Representative Cockroft also serves on the House leadership team as Assistant Majority Whip and Vice-Chair of the Natural Resources and Regulatory Services Sub-Committee.

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